Latest iPhone Rumors: Smart Camera, No Home Button, and More

Ten years. It’s been over ten years since Steve Jobs took to the stage at MacWorld in January 2007, and changed the world with the Apple iPhone. Not that there weren’t smartphones before it, but the iPhone somehow made smartphones better, easier for anyone to use, and they’ve become a vital part of nearly everyone’s lives, even our kids.

A decade later, we’re about to see a brand new iPhone, likely to be announced in September. But what can we expect? Well, we need look no further than our favorite new spy to find out.

First off, I’m going to call it right now: Apple’s CEO Tim Cook has been steadily rebranding Apple’s mobile products to be simpler, such as the iPad and the iPad Pro, which mostly dropped the numbering. And now I think we’ll just see Apple finally drop the numbering altogether, and simply call it the iPhone. But it’s entirely possible that’s wishful thinking on my part, and it’ll be called the iPhone 7S, following the tick-tock development-and-release and naming schedule Cupertino has been following for years.

But what about the rumored name of iPhone 8? Patience, grasshopper. First, take a look at this video of an alleged “physical representation” of the iPhone 8:

First, let’s deep dive into specs. As you may recall, yesterday we talked about how developers, who were looking deep into the HomePod’s firmware, found indications of what the new Apple TV will be like when it comes out for the Holidays. The 1oth anniversary iPhone’s specs have been referenced in the same firmware as well.

First, there’s the screen size… Apple doesn’t really want to get all phablet with their design, like the Samsung Note series has, sticking to the Jobsonian notion of being able to operate it with one hand. So that means they’re going to have to continue to thin out the bezel for more screen size, and according to the HomePod data, it looks like the bezel is going to removed, or be extremely thin in the front display. We may also see elimination of the home button in favor of a more digital-like approach. Jobs hated buttons anyway.

Image: MacRumors

So the edge is expected about 4mm all the way around, sporting a 5.8-inch screen size with an edge-to-edge glass front and no visible tTouch ID. Now that makes for something interesting. Would Apple dump the Touch ID system that has become the centerpiece of identification on their products? Well HomePod has a FaceDetect language in its firmware for the iPhone, so Cupertino may go for a facial recognition system, or maybe even an ocular version of Touch ID using the FaceTime camera.

With Apple Pay, there has to be a secure way for users to make payments with their phones, and it’s been Touch ID from the very beginning. I think the Touch ID system will still be there, and it may be that Touch ID sensor could be placed under the glass screen, and still be able to read it. This is based on underscreen fingerprint technology recently announced by Qualcomm. But according to Marques Brownlee on YouTube, Apple is having trouble getting their version to work.

Image: MacRumors

The screen is expected to have an upgrade over the retina screen, at least for the rumored higher-end iPhone that will be part of this upgrade cycle.

And this is where we may see a new model dubbed the iPhone Pro. Apple may make the larger iPhone as a pro model with upgraded specs, including an OLED screen. They already do this with the Plus size model, giving it an upgraded dual portrait camera, image stabilization, and other specs. So why not a new OLED screen? This wouldn’t work well for mem because I prefer the Plus models, and have been looking forward to the S model this time around to get that portrait-based dual camera.

The HomePod code also points to new “Smart Camera” features, including screen detection to optimize the image. Scenes included in the code: Fireworks, Foliage, Pet, BrightStage, Sport, Sky, Snow, and Sunset/Sunrise. There’s also something called “Freeze Motion,” which indicates that the iPhone may be able to handle fast moving options and capture them cleanly.

Lastly, for mobile video shooters and filmmakers, the next generation iPhones will expand 4K to 60 frames per second on both the rear and front facing cameras. Also note that the dual camera array goes vertical this time around.

MacRumors also believes the iPhone 8 will be a separate, more high-end phone that won’t replace the standard and Plus models at all. We’ll still get the iPhone 7S and 7S Plus, but then we also get the special anniversary edition iPhone Pro / iPhone 8 model. That would make for three models: the iPhone 7S at 4.7 inches, the iPhone 7S plus at 5.5 inches, and the third, an OLED anniversary edition, at 5.8 inches.

All three iPhones are rumored to be making a return of the glass-bodied design last seen in the iPhone 4, but some believe that the glass body will only be for the Anniversary edition. Why go back to a design that was heavier and prone to cracking and shattering? Well, that may be due to Apple making the move into wireless charging, which would make for another killer feature in the OLED model. If this rumor tracks, The iPhone 7S and 7S Plus would be aluminum framed like the current design.

Lastly, all three phones will be driven by Apple’s next-generation A11 chip, which will provide a modest performance and power bump over the iPhone 7’s A10. The iPhone 8 will also have a larger battery to support that 5.8-inch OLED screen.

According to a brand new report from MacRumors, the iPhone 7S / 7S Plus will be available this September, along with the iPhone 8 / iPhone Pro shipping with them. The report also states that all three phones will only ship in three colors, gold, silver, and black.

James has a multi-faceted career that spans radio, film and publishing. A writer about the technology in the video industry for nearly 20 years, James is also an award winning film director, having garnered a Telly Award for his short film Searching for Inspiration. He's also worked as a producer of many talk radio programs in Los Angeles with topics ranging from entertainment to travel to technology.